Should Samson Guys Serve As Deacons / Elders?

It depends.

The Bible clearly qualifies deacons / elders, therefore those qualifications must be considered first & foremost.  

Being involved within the Samson Society can bring about stigma, but involvement therein shouldn't disqualify a man for one of these aforementioned positions by default. 

Every Samson guy is on his own personal journey relative to recovery.  And, his recovery may be focused on something that's not even qualified Biblically as sin.  For example, loneliness or grief.  Those are very different struggles than sexual sin, gluttony, drunkenness, etc.  They're not any less difficult, just different from a Biblical perspective.

When I was a much younger man, I was approached twice relative to being nominated for the position of deacon at First Baptist Church Jackson.  And similarly, I've been approached a handful of times (within the same vein) at Lakeside Presbyterian Church.

My litmus test for how I responded to that approach was as follows.

Was I - at that point in time - still actively engaged (regularly) in Rob's struggle with chronic sexual sin (gay porn consumption / lust)?

My answer to that question - each time it was asked internally - was a resounding "YES"!

Therefore, I politely declined each invitation.

-------------------------

I'm thankful to report that I haven't consumed any gay porn since December of 2020 (thanks to The Path).  There's only been one other time within my life where I've put this much "distance" between myself and gay pornography, and that was +/-10 years ago.

Most men - who attend church (and pastor churches) regularly - consume Internet porn at a similar pace (as their church attendance).  And when I type "Internet porn", I'm not referring to just porn available via the tube (YouPorn) channels (which tends to be hardcore).  I'm referring also to social media, YouTube, Netflix, etc. (which tends to be softcore but no less effectively titillating).

Here's Rob's definition of Internet porn.

Internet porn is any imagery that promulgates lustful thoughts within your grey matter.  And more often than not, these lustful thoughts lead to eventual illicit sexual activity between the individual and someone other than their spouse.

In closing, many Christian men (in leadership positions or not) are on a spiritual trajectory to hell because of their marginalizing these unfortunate decisions.  Therefore, a fair number of men who serve as pastors, elders, deacons within our churches need our prayers for not only wisdom to lead but for the conviction to also extract themselves (repent) from these poor choices.